Vogue Australia’s March 2019 issue: Amy Shark, Adut Akech and Angourie Rice named next generation of Australian talent

Celebrity

Shark a fish out of water in Vogue

by Amy Price

24th Feb 2019 3:00 AM
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QUEENSLAND success story Amy Shark believes anyone doing music for fame, money or Instagram likes will never get it.

The Gold Coast singer-songwriter, whose Cinderella story saw her turn a string of rejections into international stardom in just two years, was out of her element as she posed alongside top model Adut Akechand actress Angourie Rice for the cover of Vogue Australia's March issue, dedicated to the next generation of Australian talent, but she felt that was partly the reason for her success.

"I'm not a model. I don't do this. This isn't why I wanted to be a musician, to have my photo taken," Shark, 32, told Vogue's latest issue, which is on sale from March 4.

She is joined on the Vogue Australia cover by top model Adut Akech and rising acting star Angourie Rice.

"[I'm] not doing this to be famous or to have heaps of money. I'm just doing it because I like writing songs, and I think deep down we've all got here from just focusing on the right things."

Asked for her advice to other artists, Shark said: "Just have a genuine passion for music or whatever you want to do and not do it for Instagram. Don't do it for weak reasons that will date … you will just get washed up and spat out! You've got to be able to do it for free and love it for free before you get anywhere."

But the progression hasn't come as easily as it may seem for Shark, who, after years of rejection, was catapulted to stardom with breakout hit Adore in 2016 - which finished second in Triple J's Hottest 100 that year and which she later performed on American talk shows The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

After worrying about being known as a one-hit wonder, Shark picked up four ARIA Awards last year following her debut album, Love Monster. Picture: Christian Gilles

"For me everything started really quickly and I had one song that did really well and I put the pressure on myself. I was like, well, I want everyone to know I'm not just a one-hit wonder," Shark told Vogue.

"We go into a big label meeting. They're like, we just needed another Adore and you're like, well, I wrote Adore, so I'm not going to write that again."

Shark's debut album Love Monster squashed any notion of a one-hit wonder, debuting at no.1 on the ARIA Albums chart and winning the ARIA award for best album, one of four awards Shark won late last year.

"If someone told me 10 years ago that I'd be where I am now, I would've been like, whoa! But when you get there - it's just who I am - I get hungry for more. You might play a certain slot at a festival, you're like, okay, well, next year I want to be headlining," she said.